Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Plato's account of the once great island of Atlantis out to the west, beyond the world known to his fellow Athenians, and why it disappeared many thousands of years before his time. There are no sources for this story other than Plato, and he tells it across two of his works, the Timaeus and the Critias, tantalizing his readers with evidence that it is true and clues that it is a fantasy. Atlantis, for Plato, is a way to explore what an ideal republic really is, and whether Athens could be (or ever was) one; to European travellers in the Renaissance, though, his story reflected their own encounters with distant lands, previously unknown to them, spurring generations of explorers to scour the oceans and in the hope of finding a lost world.The image above is from an engraving of the legendary island of Atlantis after a description by Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680).With Edith Hall Professor of Classics at Durham UniversityChristopher Gill Emeritus Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of ExeterAndAngie Hobbs Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of SheffieldProducer: Simon Tillotson

Renowned scholar Prof. Christopher Gill discusses Stoic Compatibilism, Nature, Free Will, and Autonomy in this thought-provoking podcast. He explains the Stoic view of determinism and human rationality. The conversation also addresses misconceptions about Stoicism, highlighting the Stoic interpretation of free will and autonomy. Professor Gill's latest book, 'Learning to Live Naturally,' explores Stoic ethics and its relevance to contemporary challenges like environmentalism.

Professor Christopher Gill discusses Plato's Atlantis, its connection to his other works, recurring catastrophes, historiography, the structure of Atlantis, and contrasting virtues between Athens and Atlantis.